Sealing machine for tubular lamps



Dec. 25, 1956 J. H. T. MILLINGTON SEALING MACHINE Foa TUBULAR LAMPS Dec.25, 1956 J. H. T. MILLINGTON 2,775,069

SEALING MACHINE FOR TUBULAR LAMPS Filed April 24, 1951 5 sheets-sheet 2t@ ATTORNEY DEQ 25, `1956 J. H. T. MILLINGTON 2,775,059

SEALING MACHINE FOR TUBULAR LAMPS Filed April 24. 1951 5 Sheets-Sheet]ai BY; y `ATTORNEY Dm 25, 1956 J. H. T. MILLINGTON 2,775,069

SEALING MACHINE FOR TUBULAR LAMPS Filed April 24. 1951 5 Sheets-Sheet 4ifa-13- faz ai g1 @,155 MM zd/ zz 165159 5 124 fzs v@ ATTORNEY Dc- 25,1956 J. H. T. MILLINGTON `2,775,069

SEALING MACHINE FOR TUBULAR LAMPS Filed April 24, 1951 5 Sheets-Sheet 5INVENTOR IH. 77/Y/ll//V`W/V.

ATTORN United States Patent O SEALING MACHINE FOR TUBULAR LAMPS John H.T. Millington, Fairmont, W. Va., assignor to Westinghouse ElectricCorporation, East Pittsburgh, Pa., a corporation of PennsylvaniaApplication April 24, 1951, Serial No. 222,648

11 Claims. (Cl. 49-2) This invention relates to sealing mounts intotubular bulbs and, more particularly, to machines for tubular lamps suchas those of the fluorescent type.

The principal object of my invention, generally considered, is toprovide a machine to which tubular bulbs and mounts are fed, and whichdelivers such bulbs each with a mount sealed automatically to each endthereof.

Another object of my invention is to provide an automatic sealingmachine for tubular lamps, which takes open ended tubular bulbs, andmounts as fed thereto, raises a mount to the bottom of each bulb,applies fires at the junction of the mount at the bottom of each bulb,while oscillating the burners about non-rotating bulbs and puddling theseals, separates the lead wires as required for subsequent exhaustoperations, reverses the position of each bulb, one by one, by turningend for end, takes a mount for the then lower end of each reversed bulb,raises such a mount to the bottom of each bulb, seals said mounts andbulbs as before, and separates the lead wires of said mounts, allowingfor then removing the assembled bulbs and mounts from the machine.

A further object of my invention is to provide an improved bulb holder,for a sealing machine as above described, Which decreases the error incentralizing abnormal bulbs.

A still further object of my invention, is to provide a L. lamp sealingburner arrangement which moves in synchronism with the indexing ofbulbs, stopping to allow such indexing and oscillating between indexingoperations.

Other objects and advantages of the invention, relating to theparticular arrangement and construction of the various parts, willbecome apparent as the description proceeds.

In the scale drawing:

Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic plan of apparatus embodying my invention;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary sectional view on the line II-II of Fig. 1, inthe direction of the arrows;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary sectional view on the line III-III of Fig. l, inthe direction of the arrows;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary sectional view on the line IV-lV of Fig. 1, inthe direction of the arrows;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary elevational view of the machine in the directionof the arrows V-V of Fig. 1;

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary sectional view on the line VI-VI of Fig.- 4 inthe direction of the arrows;

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary side elevational view of the lower portion ofthe mount supporting ixture in engagement with its operating cam trackat the time of a puddling operation;

Fig. 8 is a transverse sectional view on the line VIlI-VIII of Fig. 1,showing in dotted lines the lead wire spreading mechanism in lowerposition;

Fig. 9 is a sectional view on the line IX-IX of Fig. 8, in the directionof the arrows;

Fig. 10 is a view corresponding with the upper part of 2,775,069Patented Dec. 25, i956 ice Fig. 9 on a larger scale, but showing asucceeding position in which the leads have been spread apart;

Fig. 1l is a fragmentary sectional view on the line XI-XI of Fig. 8, inthe direction of the arrows;

Fig. 12 is a fragmentary longitudinal sectional View of the machine onthe line XII-XII of Fig. 1, in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 13 is a plan view of the cam and rocker shafts, cams and associatedelements, on the line XIII-XIII of Fig. 12, in the direction of thearrows.

Fig. 14 is a fragmentary right hand end elevational' view of themachine, in the direction of the arrows XIV-XIV of Fig. l;

Fig. 15 is a fragmentary sectional view on the line The presentinvention is concerned with a machine for automatically sealing mountsinto both endsV of tubular bulbs for lamps, such as those of theiiuorescent type,

and the spreading apart of the lead wires of such. mounts, p

so that such lamps will then be ready for exhaust operations. Use of amachine embodying my invention makes possible a performance of thenecessary operations at greater speed and with less labor than hasheretofore been possible, as well as reducing the equipment oor spaceand providing greater maintenance accessibility.. Briefly, the machinecarries a non-rotating tubular bulb, held vertically, through a seriesof oscillating burners to seal the lower end to a mount, separates thelead wires of said mount, turns the bulb end for end, while still heldin its fixture, and repeats the process at the opposite, and then lower,end of the bulb. Turning the bulb to a reversed upright position betweensealing operations, makes possible the sealing of a mount always to thelower end of said bulb, thereby providing the best conditions forholding the mount.

The bulbs and mounts are carried by heads or fixtures and moved fromstation to station by two intermittentlyadvanced track-guided endlesschains forming a conveyor. The following are a preferred sequence ofoperations. (l) Load atubulated mount on its fixture while indexed at astation near one end of the machine, in this case the left hand end asviewed in Fig. 1. (2) At the next station a bulb is loaded on itsfixture above said mount.

(3) A cam track, over which the mount-holding fixture is drawn, causesthe mount to rise to sealing position with respect to its bulb. I (4)The bulb and its engaged mount pass through a series of sealing fires,at as many indexing stations, and a sealing operation therebetween takesplace, while slight hills on the mount cam track effect puddlingoperations. (5) The lead wires are then separated from one another, asrequired for subsequent exhaust operations. (6) Rollers on thebulb-carrying fixture or head now engage a slot in a turning yoke at theend of the machine, the guide rods of said fixture drop, disengaging thebulb-supporting slat, and the yoke revolves,r

turning the bulb end for end to reversed vertical position,

one bulb being turned one way andthe next bulb the. (7) The guide rodsnow rise, locking the slat` (8) lAn untubulated mount;

similar to the raising of the tubulated mount, caused to c engage thelower end of the bulb, the upper endof (10) The y.

which has been sealed to a tubulated mount. bulb and its untubulatedmount pass through a seriesfof sealingres and are united, as for thetubulated'mount..j .1f

3 (11) The lead wires of said second mount are separated from oneanother. (12) The `bulb with two lmounts sealed thereto, is unloadedfrom the machine.

Detaz'led .description :of machine frame, housing and conveyor Referringnow to the drawing in detail, like partsv being designatedv by likereference characters, the sealingmachine,;of the present embodiment ofmy invention,y comprises a base 21 supporting at its front, or righthand endas viewed in Fig. 1, a housing 22,. containing the drivemechanism and .supporting one end of the framework 23 of the machine,and at its left hand end or back, a housing .(not shown) containing theelectrical controls. Theframework 23 comprises a front (right hand end,as viewedy in Fig". 1) pedestal 24 extending from the top wall 25-of thehousing 22, and a similar back (left hand. end, as viewed in Fig'.` l)pedestal (not shown) extending from thev top wall of the back housing.

Between the front pedestal 24 and .the cooperating back pedestal, extendupper and lower hollow cylindrical frame members 26 and 27. A plurality`of generally vertical columns 28 connect intermediate portions `of theframe members 26 and 27. Each column 28 is .formed with upper laterallyextending arms 29V and 31, to end portions of 'which are secured theupper supporting and guiding `track 32, and lower laterally extendingarms 33 and 34,

to end portions of which are secured the lower guiding track 35, both ofsaid tracks being for the bulb-supporting and guiding of iixtures orheads, and the bulb holder locking and mount elevating cam track 36.Each of the tracks 32 and 35 is channel 0r U shape in section, andformed by` a bottom rectangular section 37, secured to therespective-arms, 29, 31, 33, or 34, asby means of bolts 38, andrectangular side sections 39, secured to said bottom section as by bolts41.

The upper chain 42 and the lower chain 43, forming the tubular bulbconveyor, are each formed of a plurality of elongated links 44. Eachlink comprises an elongated body portion 45, one end 46 of which isbifurcated tol receive the smaller end 47 of the adjacent link. Pins 48,

the lower ends of which are provided with rollers 49` Drive mechanism Inorder to provide for the synchronous operation of all' the` mechanism toaccomplish the results in accordance with 'thediagram ofiFigure 17, asingle source of power, such'as. a motor 55, is provided for driving themechanism and accomplishing, by means of cams, (l) vthe indexing, thelocking of the mechanism between index cycles, termed thesindex control,(2) the oscillation of the burners during sealing, (3) the spreading ofthe leads, (4)V the turningrover of the bulb after sealing one end,preparatory tozsealing the other end, and the operation of the lock'whichholds the bulb against turning prior'and subsequent tothe-turningoperation.

As shownmost clearly in Figures 12 and 13, the motor 55 is connected bybelt 56 to wheel 57, onlshaft 58 from reduction gear box' 59 and,through gearing therein, drives shaft 61,l 'carrying pinion 62whichmeshes with gear 63 ori-cam shaft 64. The cam shaft 64, in turn,4

carries gear 65'meshng with gear 66 of double its diameter'and'oatingon' rockershaft 67: A cam-68 is formed on' xthe: side ofgean` 66, which` drives bulb.y turnover levert lil 4' l 69, pivoted tothe base of the machine at 71, by engaginga roller 72 carried-thereby.HThe'freeendA of the lever 69 is 4connected to the lower end of link 73by pivot pin 74. The upper end of the link 73 is connected to turnovergear segment 75 by pin 76. By virtue of the cam 68 having 1/2 speed,compared to the remaining cams, the turnover action on the bulb 30 isrst one way and then the other, as indicated by the portion of Figure 17marked bulbturnover.

The shaft 64 carries an indexing camV 77 disposed withinAk the gear 63and engaged by a roller 7S-on1thesarm 79 of bell crank lever 81pivotedfonthe rocker shaft 67,. and with its arm 82 connected to link 83by pivot pin 84. The other end ofthe link 83 is connected to pivotmember 85 of drivingcrank.Sti-rotatingeony extension of shaft 87. Theshaft 87 also carries a driven disc 88, apertured as indicated at 89 toreceive the upper end or driving portion of the pivot member 85, whensaid member is moved upward'f-rom the vnunmal position'illustrated.

The 'means for Vmoving .the Adriving extensionl of 'the member 85upward'into engagement withthe driven disc; 88 involves av cam r91k nextto the cam 77 on the shaft 64. This cam 91 imparts verticalrcciprocatory movement to the crank 86 on the shaft 87 through a roller92 riding;

therein and mounted on a lever 93 pivoted on the shaft 67. The freeendof the lever 93 is connected to extension94 on the hub' of the crank 86by means of a link 95,-,

ment, the disc portion 96 of the crank 86 engages the roller 97 at thelower endof the lock bracket 98, they upper portion of which carries abolt 99. The lower end,

of the bolt 99 between the indexing motions ts in one of the apertures89 in the drive disc 88. Said bolt 99' is biased downwardly by a coilspring101.

Therefore, as the link-83 is moved to-the right, it pulls the unlockeddisc Sin the same direction, turning it and connected shaft 87counter-clockwise, and correspondingly turning the sprocketv drums102and 103 fixed thereon' and over which the chains 42 and 43 respectivelypass. Their chain rollers 49 are received in notches 104 in said-drums,whereby said chains and the parts carried thereby are indexed fromonestation to the next during one revolution of the cams 77 and 91.

In order to preventoverrunning of the ,indexing movement, there isdesirably provided means for braking the turning movement of the drivendisc 88. This vbraking means may bein the. form of aband whichistightened about the periphery of the disc at the end of oneindexingmovement, and released justpriorto .thebeginning of the next indexingmovement. The operation .of the brake is indicated by the :graph inFigure 17;

The shaft 64 also carries a cam 105 engaging a roller 106 on the arm 107of bell cranklever 108, pivotally mounted on. rocker shaft 67.Theotherarm 109 of said bell crank lever is connected to link 111 bypivot pin 112. The other end of the link 111 is connected to a crank 113(Fig. A8), pivoted on a shaft 114 mounted in a bracket 115 on the frameof the machine, by means of a pin 116. The pin 116 connects withmechanism, hereinafterdescribed, for spreading the leads of the lampsbeing processed.

The shaft 64 valso carries a cam 117 engaging. a roller 118 on the arm119 of a bell crank lever 121pivoted on shaft 67. The other arm 122 of.lever 121 is connected to link 123 by pin 124. Thepother end of thelinkis pivotally connected by a pin 125 4to oscillating lever 126y (Fig. 4)connected to the' frame of the machine-by pivot a manner which willsubsequentlybe \explainedf.:,

ulb heads or holders ach of the series of heads or bulb holders 128comprises a normally-vertical channel member or slat 129, to the web 131of which is connected a pintle 132. (Fig. 4 and 12). Each pintle ispivotally mounted in its bearing bracket member 52 and extendstherethrough to carry beyond said bearing member a block 133 to whichare pivoted two rollers 134.

On the outer or front side, each channel member 129 carries a pair ofnovel bulb-holding devices 135 and 136, both of which are simultaneouslyoperable by a handle 13S on a normally-vertical rod 137. Each rod 137 ispivotally mounted in its bulb holder brackets 139 and 140 secured totheir channel member 129, as by rivet means 141. Each of said bulbholder brackets also carries an extension 142 serving as stops againstclockwise movement of spring-carrying rods 143 extending from cranks 144on said rod 137.

In each bulb-holding device, only one of which is f illustrated indetail in Figs. l5 and 16, a spring 145 has one end secured to its rod143 and the other to a pin 146. The latter extends from its bulb holdingV jaw 147, pivoted to its bracket 148, also secured to the channelmember 129, as by rivet means 150. Said jaw 147 also carries a camelement 149 normally engaged by a roller 151 pivoted to an extension 152from a cooperating plain jaw 153, also pivotally mounted on the bracket148. Said member 153 carries a stop pin 154 engageable by an associatedbulb 30 upon moving it to gripping engagement therewith. The jaw 147carries a pair of transite or similar ceramic insulators 160, while thejaw 153 carries only one of said insulators, for directly engaging acarried lamp bulb 30.

Conventional tubular lamp bulb holders will produce centralizing errorof approximately .025 when holding a 11/2 diameter bulb which runs .062"oversize or undersize. The holder of the present application reducesthis error to approximately .001 under similar circumstances.

A conventional holder supports a bulb between a V jaw and a plain jaw,the jaws being made to move in unison by equal gearing therebetween.When adjusted correctly, the jaws will hold a bulb of one given sizecentrally. When the jaws are spread slightly to grip an oversized bulb,an error is introduced for two reasons:

l. The arc of movement of the V jaw does not coincide with the plane ofbulb location, that is the plane through the line of engagement of theplain jaw therewith and bisecting the angle ofthe V jaw.

2. A diiferential motion of the two jaws is required, since the V jawcontacts the bulb at an acute angle to the plane of bulb location, whilethe plain jaw makes contact normal to the plane of bulb location.

In accordance with my invention, the essentials of the improved designare:

1. A 90 relationship between the plane of bulb location and the planethrough the axis of the pivot of the V jaw and the axis of the bulb, sothat the arc of movement is tangent to the plane of bulb location at thecenter of the operating range, hence practically coincident with it forthat range.

2. Unequal gearing (equivalent cam 149 and roller 151) to provide a jawmovement ratio equal to the sine of half of the V'angle of the jaw.These -two features almost exactly correct the errors indicated aboveover the range of normal bulb diameter variation.

There are three positions of the jaws 147 and 153 which are normallyurged together by the spring 145. The rst is where the spring centerline falls behind o1 inwardly of the cam roller center line. Here thetension of the spring holds the jaws open, as shown in dotted lines,ready for the reception of a bulb. Opening the jaws is effected bymoving the operating handle 138 counterclockwise, as viewed from above.In so doing, the spring-carrying rods 143 engage the tails 222 of theplain jaws 153, causing them to swing counterclockwise to openpositions, and carrying with them the'fVv jaws 147 by engagement oftheir rollers 151 with the cams 149.

The second position is where the jaws are held against the bulb withlight pressure, and the spring center line falls only a short distancein front of the cam roller center line. There, the tension of saidsprings holds the 4jaws against the bulb. This is an intermediateposition, in which the spring pins 143 are in dotted line positionsdesignated 143. It occurs when a bulb has been pushed to engage the stoppins 154, causing the jaws to automatically come together very lightly,and without darnaging force about the bulb.

The third position is where the jaws hold the bulb strongly, exertingrelatively-high pressure. Here cach spring is in the full-line positionin Figure 15, with the spring carrying rods 143 engaging the stops 142.This occurs only when the handle 138 is pulled forward' to stretch thesprings 145 of both devices 135 and 136 until -the rods 143 engage thestops 142.

Locking guide rods and cam `track Each bulb holder 128 is held invertical position and prevented from turning under normal circumstancesby locking rods which slide up` and down in bearings 156 and 157 carriedby the channel member 54, as actuated by the locking and mount-elevatingcam ltrack 36 on which travels a roller 159 pivoted in a casting 158 inwhich seat the bottom portions of said rods. When the roller 159 engagesa relatively high portion of the cam 36, its bulb holder is locked inposition, with the ends of the rods 155 received in correspondingapertures in a bulb holder bracket 148 or 148. When, however, it is timeto turn a bulb end for end, in the position shown in Figures 12 and 14,the roller 159 is then in engage-` ment with a depressed portion of thecam track designated 36', so 4that the rods 155 descend to pass out ofengagement with the bracket, thereby permitting the bulb holder andassociated bulb to be rotated 180.

Mount head or fixture Associated with each bulb holder 128 is a mounthead or carriage 161 comprising a pair of normallyvertical rods 162carrying a mount holder base 163 from which extends upwardly a mountsupport 164, the upper end of which is formed to provide a seat for amount 165 which is to be connected to an associated bulb 30. The upperends of the rods 162 are held in a `bracket 166, the inner or upper endof which is secured to the locking rods 155. In this way, the cam track36 servesfor both locking and unlocking the bulb holders andsimultaneously mov ing the mounts for sealing to associated bulb andpuddling the formed seal by virtue of the hills 167 found Ithereon. v

Oscillating burners The burners 168 are rotatably carried on fixtures169 supported on a hollow shaft or tube 171 extending longitudinally ofthe machine and secured to the frame thereof by brackets 172. The fourburners 168 of each set receive combustible gas, desirably a mixture offuel gas and air or oxygen respectively received from pipes 209 and 210,through flexible tube 173 connecting with a -hollow pivot member 174extending through the fixture 169 and connecting with a manifold 175.The latter branches upwardly to supply said burners with fuel.

By the disclosed construction, which eliminates any mechanical partinterrupting the flames from the burners, it is possible to have eachwork part stationary during heating and use very short eicient ameswhich can be controlled so that the area of glass heated is closelyrestricted. This arrangement not only permits closer head spacing andthe making of a seal without distorting the shape of the adjacent bulbshoulder, but avoids maintenance troubles due to rotating valves,permits the use of pre-mixed gases as fuel, and avoids misalignment dueto heat warpage.

In order to distribute the heat from the four equallyspaced burners ofeach unit `evenly around the periphery, I have provided` means f oroscillating said burners approximately 90 about the axis of their pivot`member 174. Said means comprises a pinion 176 secured-to said pivotmember 174, and oscillated by engagement with a reciprocating rack 177.Provision for reciprocation of the racks 177 for `the burner sets iseffected by mounting them on a reciprocable shaft 170 carried forhorizontal sliding movement on tie brackets 178 `secured to the tube 171which supports -the xtures 169. Said shaft 170 carries depending portion178'.

Movementis transmitted to this portion 178' from the oscillating lever126 by pivoting thereto `the free end thereof. It will thus be seen thatas the cam -117 turns, it causes oscillation of the lever 126, shortreciprocating movements of the racks 177, and Vcorrespondingoscillaltion of the burners 168 about the vertical axes of theirfixtures. Prior to movement of a bulb to the next station, the burnersstop oscillating and remain in a position providing clearance for a bulbbeing processed to pass therebetween.

Lead wire spreading After a mount 165 has been sealed to the lower endof an associated bulb, it is desired to spread the leads 179 and 181thereof from a position where they parallel the associated exhaust tube130, to a position where they are moved away from said exhaust tube, asshown in Figure 10, so as not to interfere with the subsequenttipping-olf of said tube.

This lead-spreading operation is eiected by a device or unit 180, suchas is shown in Figures 8, 9 and l0. This device comprises a stationaryhollow shaft or tube 182 in which rotates an operating rod 184 carryinga spreader operating arm 183 secured thereto, as by clamping or keying.Said rod 184 is operated from the crank 113 by a connecting rod 185, theends of which are respectively connected to said ycrank 113 and a crank186 secured to said rod 184.

The arm 183 has a roller at its free `end. engageable with -avertically-reciprocating rod 187, carrying a head 188 at its upper end.To said head 188 are pivoted the short arms 189 of bell crank levers191. The long arms of said levers carry the lead wire separating lingers192.

Pivoted on the supporting tube 182 is a hub 190 carrying an arm 193 fromthe outer end of which extends a hollow column 194 in which the rod 187is guided. The hub 190 carries a relatively-long pin 195 which, inextreme up position of the arm 193, engages a stop pin 196 on astationary tube-borne member 197. Said pin 195 is urgedinto engagementwith said stop pin 196 by coil tension spring 198, one end of which isconnected to .the pin 195, and the other end of which is connected to .apin 199 extending from said stationary member 197.

This means that the arm 193 and its carried column 194 are alwaysresiliently urged to upward or full line position, shown in Figure 8,but are normally held back to dotted-line position by engagementof astop pin 202 on the arm 183 with a relatively short pin 203 on the hub190. Thus upward movement of the column carrying arm 193, independentlyof positive movement of the operating arm 183, is prevented by such stoppin 202 extending from said operating arm 183 and normally engaged bysaid short pin203.

When, however, the link 185 is actuated as the operating cam 105 turns,the arm 183 turns clockwise, as viewed in Figure 8, allowing the arm 193and the column 194 to be moved to vfull-line position by the spring 198.When it reaches that position, the lead-wire separating lingers 192 liebetween the leads 179 and 181. Continued movement of the arm 183 thenpushes the rod 187 up through the column 194, causing the bell-cranklevers 191 to pivot about their supporting pins 200, which pivot them tothe top of the column 194, from a position where their long arms dependvertically, to the position shown in Figure 10 where the members 192 areseparated and at the same time separate the -leads 179-and 181.

Bulb lturning When a bulb reaches the position shownV in vFigures l2 and14, dropping of the lock rods y causes them to pass out of engagementwith the bracket, 148 or 148' as the case may be. ln this position thetwo rollers 134 have passed into engagement with a U-shaped turningsocket 204, mounted on the end of a shaft 205, turnable in bearings 206and 207 at the top of front pedestal 24. The other end of the shaft 205carries a pinion 208 meshing with the gear segment 75. v

This means that after said unlocking, the gear segment 75 is operatedthrough rod 73 which, in turn, is reciprocated by turning of the cam 68,so that the bulb 30 is turned end for end, that is through 180, theoperator being protected during such movement by cover 220. Furthermovement results in the roller 159 riding off the depressed portion 36of the cam track 36-and locking the lamp in reversed position.

Some of the advantages of turning the bulb end for end, as distinguishedfrom previous practice, are labor saving in positioning the bulb for thesecond seal, and the insuring that the presses of the stems at the endsof the lamp will be in a single plane. The latter requirement isessential for processing the lamp during subsequent operations, such asautomatic base threading.

Operation From the foregoing description of the apparatus for effectingunion between a tubular bulb and mounts at opposite ends thereof, itwill be seen that said apparatus is adapted to be run, normally, by onlytwo operators, one at the front and one at the back of the machine, asfollows:

1. At Station l or Station 2, as viewed in Figure l, the front operatorloads a tubulated mount on the support 164 on the mount carriage 161. Atthis point the cam track 36 is in a low or depressed position.

2. At Station 3 a bulb 3i) is pushed in between the holding jaws 147 and153 against the stop pins 154 on jaws 153 on the supporting slat 129 bythe front operator. The elevation of the bulb is determined by stopmember 211, adjustably supported on standard 212, extending from theframe of the machine, and which is engaged by the lower end of saidbulb.

3. As the loaded bulbs and mounts index from station to station, the camtrack 36 elevates the mount carriages between Stations 3 and 5, so thateach mount engages the lower end of its bulb at Station 5.

4. Each bulb with its engaged mount passes through the series of sealinglires or burners 168, from Station 6 through Station 19. Stations 6through l0 serve to soften the engaged portions of the bulb and mount tobe connected, while at Stations l1 to 15 inclusive, these members havingstarted to seal together, the incipient joints are puddled, that isworked slightly by moving the mount support up and down by hills 167 onthe cam track 36, as shown in Figures l and 7.

5. After passing through cooling Station 20, the lead-wires 179 and 181of each tubulated mount are at Station 21 separated from one another, asshown most clearly in Figure l0.

6. At Station 23, a cam track 36 has dropped away from mount-supportingposition, as such support is no longer necessary due to the union of themount with the bulb, at the same time unlocking the bulb for rotation bywithdrawing the locking rods 15S from the bulb holder bracket 148 (or148'). Engagement of the rollers 134 with the bulb turning socket 294,actuated by cam 68, elfects a reversal of the bulb end for end, followedby a reinsertion of the ends only of the locking rods 155 in the bracketat the other-end of the ybulb holding Slat,

that is, that numbered 148' (or 148), due to the elevation of the cam 36at this time being intermediate its high and low points, as viewed onthe right side looking at Fig. 14 and as shown schematically in Fig. l,thus again preventing turning of the bulb and yet leaving suicientclearance for loading of an untubulated mount. p

7. After this, an untubulated mount is loaded on the correspondingsupport 164 on the carriage 161 at the other side of the machine, atStation 25 or 26 followed by complete insertion of the locking rods 155in the bracket 148 (or 148').

8. At Station 27, the back operator checks the elevation of the reversedbulb, if necessary, sliding it vertically to match the stop member 221.

9. Sealing of the untubulated mount to the other, but now bottom end ofthe bulb 30 is eiected at Stations 30 through 43. At Station 45 theleads of the untubulated mount are spread as the Station 2l for thetubulated mount.

l0. The bulbs 30, each with a mount sealed to each end, are removed oneby one by the operator of the next or exhaust machine at a stationbeyond that numbered 45. l

Figure 17 Figure 17 graphically indicates the functioning of themachine. In said gure, the curve marked 213 shows that the`conveyor ismoved intermittently, that is, each lamp is indexed, or moved from onestation to the next, and then allowed to remain still while the drivemeans returns for pulling the conveyor forward a distance equivalent tothat from one station to the next.

Graph numbered 214 shows that the indexing movement is eiected while thedisk portion 96 has pushed up on the roller 97 to effect disengagementof the locking bolt 99 from the driven disk 88. At the end of theindexing movement, the driving crank 86 is disengaged from the drivendisk 88 by downward movement of the crank 86, and returned to its formerposition. The previously-referred-to brake is applied, sayto the disk88, near the end of an indexing movement, and released just before thenext indexing movement, as indicated by the graph 120.

The graph 215 shows how the lead spreading device 180 operates. Thespreader unit 180 first moves to operating position, with the fingers192 together or closed, then the fingers open and close, and thereafterthe unit is moved out of position.

The graph 216 indicates 'that the burners 168 oscillate, rst one way andthen the other, several times at each indexing position. The left-handend intermediate straight portion of said graph 216 indicates astationary position of the burners 168 which will not interfere withbulbindexing movement therebetween. The full line graph 217 and thedotted line graph218 indicate that one bulb is turned clockwise and thenext one counter-clockwise, that is, each succeeding bulb is turned in adirection opposite to that of the preceding one. Graph 219 indicatesthat the bulb 30 is free of its locking rods 155 while being turned, andis locked prior and subsequent to such turning.

Although a preferred embodiment of my invention has been disclosed, itwill be understood that modifications may be made within the spirit andscope of the invention.

I claim:

1. A machine for sealing a tubulated and an untubulated mount toopposite ends Vof tubular bulbs for uorescent lamps, comprising meansfor driving said machine, a conveyor driven by said means and indexingfrom station to station, fires at certain of said stations for sealingmounts to the lower ends of such bulbs, a series of means on saidconveyor each for holding a bulb with its axis vertical, stop means forinsuring placement of each bulb at a proper height at the beginning ofbulb indexing movement, a corresponding series of carriages each forsupporting a tubulated mount and having locking rods receivable in saidbulb-holding means and a roller at its lower end, a cam track on whichsaid rollers travel, the elevation of said track varying so as to bringsaid mounts, after loading on said carriages, up to engagement with thelower ends of supported bulbs at said fires and, after said mounts aresealed thereto, withdraw said carriages at a station beyond where themounts are sealed to the lower ends of their bulbs, by dropping to alsounlock one at a time each bulb-holding member on the conveyor, means atsaid station for turning said bulbs end for end, said cam beyond saidturning position rising to lock each bulb-holding member one at a timein inverted position, and means at the other side of said machine forrepeating the bulb-processing operations with untubulated mounts.

2. In a machine for sealing a tubulated and an untubulated mount toopposite ends of a tubular bulb for fluorescent lamps, a conveyorindexing from station to station, said conveyor comprising a pluralityof elongated links and connecting pins forming a top chain, a pluralityof similarly elongated links and connecting pins forming a bottom chain,each link comprising a body portion, one end of which is relativelylarge and bifurcated to receive the smaller end of the adjacent link, atrack for supporting each chain, rollers on the lower ends of said pinsand guided in said tracks, each upper link having an outwardly extendingpintle, a supporting roller mounted on said pintle and riding on saidupper track, a bearing bracket member receiving the outer end portion ofeach pintle, means securing each bracket member to its link, a channelmember connecting each bracket member to the corresponding lower link, apair of vertical shafts, upper and lower sprocket drums on said shaftsand over which said upper and lower chains respectively travel, meansfor driving said sprocket drums comprising a cam shaft, a cam carriedthereon, a rocker shaft, a bell crank lever pivoted thereon, a rollercarried by one arm of said lever and engaging said cam, a link pivotallyconnected to the other end of said lever and with its other endconnected to a pivot member of a driving crank, said driving crankrotating on one of said shafts, a driven disk secured to said shaft andapertured to receive the upper end portion of said pivot member when thelatter is moved upwardly from its normal position, means for at neededtimes moving said pivot member upwardly into engagement with said drivendisk comprising another cam on said cam shaft, another lever pivoted onsaid rocker shaft, a roller carried by said lever and riding on saidcam, the free end of said lever being connected to said driving crankfor reciprocating it axially of its shaft to carry said pivot memberinto and out of engagement with said disk, and a locking bolt for saiddisk also operated by said crank, so that when the disk is being turnedsaid bolt is withdrawn and when the mechanism is being returned for anew indexing movement said bolt holds said disk against rotation.

3. In a machine for sealing a tubulated and an untubulated mount toopposite ends lof a tubular bulb for fluorescent lamps, a conveyorindexing from station to station, -said conveyor comprising a pluralityof elongated links forming a top chain, each link comprising a bodyportion, one end of which is relatively large and bifurcated to receivethe smaller end of the adjacent link, pins connecting said links, asimilar bottom chain, a track for supporting each chain, the lower endsof said pins being provided with rollers guided in said tracks, eachupper link having an outwardly extending pintle, a supporting rollermounted on said pintle and riding on said upper track, a bearing bracketmember receiving the outer end portion of each pintle, means securingeach bracket member to its link, a channel member connecting eachbracket member to the corresponding lower link, a pair of verticalshafts, and upper and lower sprocket 1-1 drums ixedon said shafts overwhich simultaneously said'upper and lower chains` respectively travel.

4. In a machine for. sealing tubulated and` untubulatedl mounts toopposite ends of tubular bulbs for uorescent lamps, a normally verticalchannel member having a pintle, secured to its web, a bearing bracketpivotally receiving said pintle, said pintle extending through saidbracket' and' carrying a pair of rollers at its free end, a pair ofvertically-spaced bulb-holding devices on the side of each channelmember opposite to that from which said pintle extends, both of saiddevices being operable by a normally-'vertical rod carrying a handle,brackets on said channel, said rod being pivotally mounted in saidbrackets, each bracket carrying an extension, another pair of bracketssecured to each channel member, one adjacent to each of saidfirst-mentioned brackets, a bulb-holding V jaw and a cooperating bulbholding plain jaw pivoted` to each of said last-mentioned brackets, eachV jaw carrying a cam element and each plain jaw carrying a roller on anextension thereof and normally engaging'sa-idk cam` element, each plainjaw also carrying a stop' pin engageable by an associated bulb uponmoving it into gripping engagement therewith, a crank on each operatingrod adjacenty each' set' of bulb* holding jaws, a spring-carrying rodextending from each of said cranks, anda spring extending from each ofsaid rods to its V jaw, causing said jaws to come together for holding alamp bulb, when said bulb is moved therebetween into engagement 'withthe stop pins.

5. In a machine for sealing tubulated and untubulated mounts to oppositeends of tubular bulbs for uorescent lamps, a normally vertical channelmember having a pintl'e secured to its web, av bearing bracket, meanspivotally mounting said pintle in said bracket, said pintle extendingthrough said bracket andy carrying a pair of rollers at its free end,and a pair of vertically-spaced bulb-holding devices on the side of eachchannel member opposite to-that from which said pintle extends, both ofsaid devices being operable by a normally-vertical rod carrying ahandle.

6. In a machine for processingthe bulbs of iluorescent lamps, aynormally-vertical channel member, a pair of spaced brackets on saidchannel member, abulb-holding V jaw and a cooperating bulb-holding plainjaw, pivoted to each of said brackets, said V jaw carrying a cam elementand said plain jaw carrying a roller on an extension thereof andnormally engaging said cam element, said` plain jaw also carrying a stoppin engageable by an associated bulb upon moving it into grippingengagement therewith, an operating rod also pivoted in said brackets, ahandle on said rod for the manual operation thereof, a crank on saidoperating rod adjacent each set of bulb-holding jaws, a spring carryingrod extending from each of said cranks, each plain jaw having a tailengageabie` by its rod for opening said jaws, and a spring extendingfrom each of said. rods to its V jaw, causing said jaws to come togetherfor holding a lamp bulb when such is moved therebetween into engagementwith the stop pins.

7. VIn a machine for sealing tubulated' and untubulated mounts toopposite ends of tubular bulbs for uorescent lamps, means for drivingsaid machine, a conveyor driven by said means and indexing from stationto station', means on said conveyor for holding a series of said` bulbswith their axes vertical, a corresponding series of carriages each forsupporting a mount and having locking rods receivable in bulb holdingmeans on said conveyor, a roller at the lower end of each carriage, acam track on which said rollers travel, means for softening adjacentportions of bulbs and mounts so that they seal upon engagement, saidtrack varying in elevation so as to after loading on said carriagesbring said mounts to sealing engagement with the 'lower ends ofsupported bulbs while holding said locking rods in said bulb holdingmeans and, after saidymounts are sealed theretowithdraw said carriages.and said locking rods kto permit turning of said bulbsend for end.

8.` In a machine for sealing" mountsto'opposite ends of tubular bulbsforuorescent lamps, a carriage for transporting such mountsduringsuchsealing operations, said carriage comprising a pair of normally verticalrods, a mount holder base carried/byz saidfrods, a mount supportextending upwardly from said base andV with` its upper end' formed toprovide a seat for a mount, a bracket holdingv the' upper ends of saidrods, locking rods to which the upper end of saidv bracket is secured, aroller carried by said locking rods, and a cam track on whichsaid'roller' travels for raising and' lowering said mount head;

9. In a machine for sealing mounts to opposite ends of tubular bulbs foruorescent lamps, means for driving said machine, a conveyor driven bysaid means and indexing from station to station, a series-of means onsaid conveyor each forA holding afbulb with its axis vertical, and meansat a certain station on said machine for turning each bulby asit isthereindexed, end-for end, to repeat` the processing at the opposite endthereof, saidmeans comprising a carriage, lock rods carried thereby, anda cam on which said carriage rides, said cam dropping at said station todraw said lock rods from locking position,I the means for holdingeach.bulb having a pintle pivotally mounted, apairof rollers carried on theinner endofsaid' pintle, a, U-shaped turning socket, a shaft on whichsaid4 socket is mounted, saidr rollers coming into engagement, with saidsocket at said turning station, and a pinion on the other end of. saidshaft, a gear segment meshing with saidv pinion, and avcam-operated rodconnected tosaid segment, whereby when reaching said station saidA bulbcarrier is unlocked, turned end for end, and relocked inreversedposition.

10. A machine for sealing4 a tubulated and an untubulatedmount to.opposite ends of tubular bulbs for fluorescent lamps, comprisingmeansfor driving said machine, a conveyor driven `by said means and indexingfrom station to station, a series of means on said conveyor each forholding a bulb with its axis vertical, stop means for insuring.placement of each bulby at a proper height at the beginning of bulbindexing movement,V a correspond-ing series of carriages each forsupporting a mount and having locking rods receivable in saidbulbholding means anda roller at its lower end, burner sets forsupplying heat for said' sealing, each set comprising a xture supportedon a carrying shaft extending longitudinally of the machine, a manifold,means mounting said manifold, for pivoting in said iixture about avertical axis, a plurality of burner elements extending upwardly fromsaid manifold, a pinion carried by the mount- -ingmeans ofsaid manifold,a reciprocable rack engaging said pinionfor oscillating said burnerelements, means synchronized with the operation of said conveyor fordriving saidl rack, so that it stops oscillating while bulbs are beingmoved from station to station and thereby avoids interfering with actionof the conveyor, a cam track on which said rollers travel, the elevationof said track varying so as to bring said mounts, after loading on saidcarriages, up to engagement with the lower ends of supported bulbs and,after said mounts are sealed thereto by means of said burner setswithdraw said carriages at a stationbeyond where the mounts are sealedto the lower ends of their bulbs, by dropping to'also unlock one at atime each bulb-holding member on the conveyor, means at said. stationfor turning said bulbs-end for end, said cam beyond said turningposition rising to lock each bulb-holding member one at a time ininvertedl position, and means at the other side of said machine forrepeating the bulb-processing operations with nntubulated mounts.

ll. Ina machine for sealing ay tubulated and an untubulated mount'toopposite ends ofV a tubular bulb for 'uorescent lamps,aeconveyor-indexing'from station t0 station, said conveyor comprisingelongated links forming top and bottom chains, each link comprising abody portion, one end of which is relatively large and bifurcated toreceive the smaller end of the adjacent link, a track for supportingeach chain, pins `connecting said links, rollers on the lower ends ofsaid pins and guided in said tracks, each upper link having au outwardlyextending pintle, a supporting roller mounted on said pintle and ridingon said upper track, a bearing bracket member receiving the outer endportion of each pintle, means securing each bracket member to its link,a channel member connecting each bracket member to the correspondinglower link, a pair of vertical shafts, upper and lower sprocket drums onsaid shafts and over which said upper and lower chains respectivelytravel, means for driving said sprocket drums comprising a cam, apivoted bell crank lever, a roller carried by one arm of said lever andengaging said cam, a driving crank, a pivot member thereon, meansconnecting the other end of said lever to said pivot member, a drivendisk apertured to receive the upper end portion of said pivot memberwhen the latter is moved upwardly from its normal position, means 14 forat needed times moving said pivot member upwardly into engagement withsaid driven disk, and a locking bolt for said disk also operated by saidcrank, so that when the disk is being turned said bolt is withdrawn, andwhen the mechanism is being returned for a new indexing movement, saidbolt holds said disk against rotation.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS391,171 McDonald Oct. 16, 1888 1,655,279 McGowan Jan. 3, 1928 1,907,532Flaws May 9, 1933 1,997,694 Morick et al. Apr. 16, 1935 2,240,093 FarrisApr. 29, 1941 2,256,490 Paynter Sept. 23, 1941 2,262,901 Murphy Nov. 18,1941 2,428,032 Moscrip Sept. 30, 1947 2,434,664 Malloy Ian. 20, 19482,508,979 Van Gessel May 23, 1950 2,512,277 Jacobsen June 20, 19502,554,013 Cooper et al. May 22, 1951 2,640,584 Robb June 2, 1953

